UFC on FOX 9: Trujillo Outlines Why he Threw Knees to Body Again

Heading into UFC on FOX 9 there was an understandable buzz for Urijah Faber-Michael McDonald and Demetrious Johnson-Joseph Benavidez, but there was also some for the lightweight scrap between Abel Trujillo and Roger Bowling.

The reason being, of course, that their first fight in August ended in controversy, after Bowling could not continue due to what was deemed an illegal knee to the head (and then a follow up punch). Many folks, including Trujillo and UFC boss man Dana White however, thought the knee hit Bowling to the body. The latter was not one of them and a pretty serious beef was born.

Well, if you saw the rematch Saturday, Trujillo ensured there was no controversial result this time around and stopped Bowling in round two. The powerful lightweight also threw crushing knees to the body of Bowling once again. So why did he turn to the risky technique? Considering what went down at UFC FN 27? (Comments via MMA Junkie.com):

“I knee a lot,” Trujillo said. “I knee when guys come up, they’re susceptible to the sternum area, so I threw it. I knew I wasn’t going to hit him in the face.”

“It was very important I finished him the second time,” Trujillo added while discussing the TKO win. “Also, I felt like (UFC President) Dana White had my back after the first fight, and he said I won, so it was very important I did the same thing in the second fight.”

It was definitely an impressive performance, and an important one, due to the one sided UD loss Trujillo suffered versus Khabib Nurmagomedov in May. Trujillo also added that he’s hoping to make another “statement” in his next bout. It will be interesting to see who he gets booked to fight.